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« Roush Dispatch
NBC's Early Jump on Next Season
Friday Night Lights by Bill Records/NBC Photo
Grain-(or pillar)-of-salt time. NBC has decided to do what they call an “in-front” presentation, a way-earlier-than-upfront-week announcement of next season’s year-round strategy, which includes lineups for fall, winter and as far ahead as next summer. (As one reporter on a conference call pointed out, those with not-so-long memories can remember how well this strategy worked out for Fox a few years back.) Still, even if we can be reasonably certain that the best-laid plans of mice and Ben (Silverman) will undergo significant adjustments along the way, there’s quite a bit to chew on here. For a full rundown of NBC’s 2008-09 game plan, start here.
First off, glee all around that Friday Night Lights lives on, with a 13-episode third season to premiere on NBC next winter (back on Fridays), following an exclusive run on DirectTV that begins in October. Ben Silverman says only about 10-15 percent of NBC’s audience subscribes to the service, as opposed to the 90 percent overlap that would occur if NBC was sharing the show with a basic-cable outlet. He’s convinced that with this sharing deal, the show can remain profitable for all parties. It certainly works for me, although it will be tough for many fans to wait for the NBC replays.
Mondays sound promising with the return of Chuck and Heroes, followed by the split-personality thriller My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater as the Jekyll/Hyde suburban dad who’s somehow also a master spy/assassin, and what happens when those worlds collide. Heroes, sitting out the rest of this season because of the disruption of the strike, will kick off Sept. 15 with a three-hour “event” of a clip show followed by a two-hour premiere.
Thursdays are also in good shape, although I’ve never been a fan of expanded hour-long Office episodes, which is how next season will begin. (In October for several weeks, the second half-hour will be taken over by prime-time Saturday Night Live political specials, an inspired idea.) As for the Office spin-off that will be launched after the Super Bowl and then air in tandem with the original series: I’m not one for prejudging, and all Office fans should hope for the best. But given that the series itself is in part a lampoon of corporate hubris, it’s hard to view this announcement without at least a pinch of fearful skepticism. Looks like the show will be a mix of new characters with at least one of the original ensemble (but who?) brought in to launch it. I have faith in Greg Daniels, but questions about him being spread too thin are inevitable.
Fridays in the fall will hinge on how universal the appeal is of Crusoe (a family adventure based on the original desert-island classic), and how well last season’s steadily improving Life (with the always-entertaining Donal Logue joining the quirky ensemble) fares against CBS’ Numbers. Too bad NBC can’t stick a "Law & Order" in front of the title of this one.
After football season ends in the new year, and NBC stunts on Sundays with a couple of adventure miniseries, the night’s lineup becomes a very mixed bag. It starts with a Merlin fantasy series from the BBC about the early days of the wizard and the boy who would be King Arthur (with Buffy's Anthony Head in the ensemble). That’s followed by Medium, and the night will end with a modern-day David & Goliath allegory, Kings, starring Deadwood's Ian McShane. Until we see any of this, there's no way we can pass judgment. But it's hard to imagine the masses abandoning ABC’s Sunday lineup for any of this (although you never know where or when the next Lost will emerge).
As for NBC’s summer plans: Puh-leeze. Let’s get through this year’s first, shall we?
I'll be waiting to see if all these announcements hold up through the official upfront week in mid-May, when the rest of the networks weigh in with their official plans. In presenting his new schedule to reporters, Ben Silverman used the words "inspirational," "heroic," "escapist" and "engaging." (All of which, I guess, are meant to apply to Wednesday's new Knight Rider remake.) If any of these plans help lift the peacock from its doldrums, he may not have to eat those words.
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Apr 2, 2008 4:44 PM
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Thanks for the report, Matt.
FNL is back, and that's the only thing that really matters here.
That said, it is not a close-ended proceedural crime drama (L&O: CI) where it would seem to not matter if NBC waits to repurpose it. This is a serialized drama show with ongoing plotlines and I am worried that spoilers -- significant ones detailing everything that goes on, not just the nuggets given to us by Ausiello and the like -- will definately creep out before the NBC broadcasts begin under this arrangement.
I will be a college kid in the fall and, while I believe my dorm gets cable, that shuts me out as a viewer until the repurposed airings on NBC. Luckily, we have DirecTV here at home so I expect I will be able to see it before NBC shows it somehow or other. But I still don't really like it. I don't know what my friends who watch and don't have DirecTV will do. And 13 episodes will mean compressing story arcs significantly from the previous 22-episode plan.
Oh well. At least we have the show back, so even if it is not in the most ideal form, I want to thank NBC & DTV for giving it to us at all.
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Apr 2, 2008 6:45 PM
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In a perfect world, I would want 22 or more episodes of FNL and to be shown only on NBC but alas it is not. Considering just a few months ago, we were fretting about no FNL at all, I am not going to complain. 13 episodes is alot better than the alternative.
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Apr 2, 2008 8:26 PM
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Matt,
The most alarming part of NBC's new strategy is their invitation to several sponsors to help "develop" some series.
If any of the new shows (and several returning series) adopt the godawful Knight Rider model, they can count me out as a viewer of a lot of their programming. I don't mind product placement, but I won't stand for series replacement.
(Disclosure: I own a Mustang and Knight Rider almost made me trade it in for a Toyota Corrolla. The show was THAT bad.)
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Apr 3, 2008 1:30 AM
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I would watch any shows rather than DH or BS on ABC sunday nights. Don't even want to mention Extreme Makeover and the stupid show with the Oprah's name on it.
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Apr 3, 2008 1:52 PM
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I'm just glad that FNL, The Office and 30 Rock are back. I couldn't care less about the rest. I may have to watch that Merlin series, though, just because 'Giles' is in it. 
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Apr 3, 2008 4:23 PM
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Super Happy FNL is coming back, but Matt, you and folks like Michael Ausiello better be extra, extra, extra careful with those spoiler warnings in the fall since most of us don't get DirectTV.
Or, hey, you could just record it for us and send us the episodes in the fall. Yeah, that's the ticket.
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Apr 3, 2008 6:04 PM
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Any news on Law & Order: CI?
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Apr 3, 2008 10:13 PM
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jakeorama: L&O:CI premieres June 8th at 9:00 on USA network for 12 episodes.
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Apr 4, 2008 8:24 AM
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"Medium" lives and "Las Vegas" is dead. Go figure.
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Apr 4, 2008 5:37 PM
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OFFICE II prediction:
Will feature Ryan "The Temp / The Boss". You read it here first!
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Apr 7, 2008 7:43 PM
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